I'm very excited- my new alien track frame has apparently left the factory in China- so now it goes to norway for checking and then I should have it soon. In the meantime I'm working out some weight savings, and starting my spec list.

This is a pure track race bike- mostly for sprints including kilo and keirin which are my favourite events- but will also do some bunch races on the track for fitness.

Obviously there aren't as many parts to save weight on with a track bike, and it needs to be tough to survive regular gear changing, lying around the track infield, and my 92kg weight- so I'll have to be creative- any tips would be welcome!

Anyone interested in aliens they are at http://alienbikes.com/v3/ .I'll be starting to weigh different bits over the next few days- most of the parts are still in use on my planet x. In the meantime I'll be looking at

1. how to modify the ISP clamp- any thoughts? it 'looks' heavy- might suprise me but i doubt it!2. TT bars- something light and stiff to replace my steel nittos3. custom garmin mount- to put a 500 series clamp behind the seat out of view- possibly as part of the ISP modification4. bottom bracket- fairly sure something other than stronglight bb will fit so looking for a ceramic replacement5. chainrings- currently a big chunk of metal- looking at custom options to shave some weight6. ti bolt kits- thinking stem, seatclamp, chainrings could all be lighter

I can also say that the Alpina TT bars are very good indeed - extremely stiff (stiffer than the Eastons), and marginally heavier at ~450g.

Beware though, the Eastons are not UCI legal (I think they fall slightly foul of the 3:1 rule). The new ones might be okay, but the old ones are a bargain and you can pick up a second hand pair for £200 - £250.

As for chainrings - I'd say it's worth giving fibre-lyte a call, they make aero carbon chainrings that can be made to fit your crank spider. They're very light and tough, and they'll make pretty much every size so you can get just the gear you want. Plus you'll only need one so it won't get too expensive.

thanks pal, yes fibrelyte were on my list- I just need to confirm my race gear otherwise it could be an expensive training ring! Ti bolts for the stem are on the way, in theory 2g per bolt which is good. I think I will go for a bare ti/metal finish on all extras to complement the black frame (and save weight on paint!)

for bars I'm looking at easton or maybe a custom solution now I have my position dialled in perfectly- ideally I want 34cm base bars for kilo starts so that limits me a bit!

Alrighty, slr saddle has arrived and ti. Bolts are in the mailPicking upmy corima 4 spoke from the shop tomorrow after getting new bearings, so I should have a nice little heap of bits to weigh this weekend

Once fibrelyte get back to me on ring thickness I will get that ordered, then it's time to sit on my hands waiting eagerly for the frame!

Are you planning on buying just one chainring?I use four (48,49,50,51) as well as several sprockets depending on the event.

I know this is WW's and will probably get shouted down for saying this, but really , a track bike is one bike where weight is not a consideration for me.Frame stiffness is paramount.Aero is also a consideration, but weight? Not really

Andrew, yeh i already have 47-50 rings but I'm going for a fancy 'race day' ring for my kilo bike just for fun really, I like a pointless project!Aero is taken care of already, as is strength, so now it's about fiddling tiny savings in weight where possible/ safe just for my own pleasure

I only race track so I'd never bother ww'ing my road or mtb since they are just training tools- it would be as daft as having carpet in my weight room, but since I spend half my week on or looking at my track bike iay as well trick it out a bit!

yes, it might well be from the same factory- the bulk of the frame is not much new- the guy who runs alien just specced a few minor changes over some available- the dropouts we picked based on df3 style, there's no bump where bottle bolts should go, and the geometry is basically custom for me and him- though more will be available

slow progress waiting for the frame so far- I've been modifying a few bits and will weigh everything once it's all done (need to borrow an accurate scale)

Thomson stem- fairly easy- just swapped out the bolts for some ti bolts off ebaySaddle- stripped a cheap slr off ebay that had a bit of minor scuffing on the surface- just need to sand gently a dimple in the middle and give it some more clean up round the edges. It's wet in the photo from giving it a quick rinse to get paintbrush cleaner off

Carbon Fibre Lyte ring is going on order today- 49 tooth bare carbon aero should be about 85g hopefully- the guys are confident the ring will survive my kilo starts- if it doesn't work in training then we'll put this down to a lesson learnt!Corima 4 spoke is next to be destickered, and then tub glued upPursuit bars are off being cut down to my preferred 34cm and re welded- might not work my pal tells me but we'll see

Still looking at options for headset top cap (maybe fibre lyte?) and bolt, ti chainring bolts, chain and ISP cap tuning- maybe some sort of custom mount using cut up steerer tube sliced in half and some of the thomson post mod tricks learnt here

while I kick my heels waiting for the frame I cleaned up my corima 4 spoke ready for new tub gluing. Obviously not essential to clean it back to the carbon but since I had time I might as well start from fresh and do a nice neat job.Now to decide on a front tub that will work indoors and outdoors, glue up well and hopefully last a season of racing..hmmUsing a fairly crude scale this is 825g with the skewer bolts, but no glue/tyre. Not bad for £200

Also looking at bars today- I sold a ton of old kit on ebay so I'm treating myself to new bars. Ideally I'd like 34-36cm width so it's nitto or alpina basically- I cant find the right model/width combo of nitto to fit oversize stems (dont like the skinny tops on the 25.4 fit) so it might have to be 300g of carbon loveliness http://www.brookscycles.co.uk/alpina-ca ... aign=Gbase

Not light by road standards but Chris Hoy uses these on and off so they are likely to be strong enough!

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